


How to Win the War Before it Begins

by phenixreturns



Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: M/M, Non-Linear Narrative, Not Canon Compliant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-11
Updated: 2017-10-11
Packaged: 2019-01-16 00:50:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12332181
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phenixreturns/pseuds/phenixreturns
Summary: For three hundred years, Jack Frost has been alone. No one to help, no one to show him the way. If only there was someone, someone who could believe in him.Little does Jack Frost know that when the Light refuses to answer, the Darkness always will.





	How to Win the War Before it Begins

_Darkness_...

It's the first thing he knows.

 _It's dark and it's cold_...

Feeling spreads through him, life pumping through the icy veins beneath his skin.

 _I'm alone_...

The feeling is unfamiliar, and yet the pain in his chest is sharp enough to wash away the icy fingers of cold, and he realizes, _I'm scared..._

But then a light pierces the darkness, chasing away the frightening feelings, and he feels himself rise through the the weightless water, and beyond the hard barrier of ice, until the moon is _so_ big, and it is _so_ bright above him.

For a moment it seems it is going to swallow him whole.

Something holds him there, floating above the small pond that was once his resting place, before releasing him, almost gently back onto ice that has sealed beneath him once again. The ice beneath his feet holds no chill. It feels pleasant, almost warm. He knows this is not normal, but he can't quite remember why. He looks at his hands, the pale skin, almost translucent in the moonlight. With child-like hands, he touches the warm cloak, made of a dark wool, staring in wonder at the soft warmth of the fabric. He looks at the moon again, searching it's depths for anything, anything at all. _Who am I?_ He asks quietly, almost timidly in his mind. _What am I here for?_

With no answer from the moon, he looks around, and for a moment he's so entranced by the darkness curling around the barren trees, he doesn't see the stick until it nearly sends him back, headfirst, into the ice. Curiously, he looks closer at the long, thin thing. On closer inspection, Jack comes up with a better name for the thing. It's more like a staff, wide than he is tall,with a large curve at the end. He touches it with his foot, and a layer of thin frost flashes across the surface and disappears, as if the wood had soaked the power into its very core. Curious, he kneels down and gently picks up the staff. It flashes a brilliant blue, and he flinches slightly, the staff bottom dropping onto the ice, and he watches in amazement as curling patterns of frost spread from the tip of the staff.

Looking at the staff again, he smiles in awe at its amazing power. Moving over to a tree, he gently touches the curved end to the trunk and watches in utter excitement as the spirals of frost grew across the face of the trunk. He strokes the pattern lightly, marvelling at its intricacy and then brushes the staff against another tree and watched excitedly as more frost spiraled on the tree. The excitement inside him grows with the frost, and smiling widely, he runs around the small pond, reveling in wonder as the frost spirals behind, covering the ice, the bushes, everything.

And then, with a sudden gush of wind, He is lifted off his feet again and hurled into the open air. He flies far above the little pond, watching as the frost he had created now covers its gleaming surface. Then the wind suddenly vanishes, and he's dropped, none too gently, into a copse of trees, landing precariously on a large branch. He manages to catch hold, and then pulls himself up. He looks around at the high view and notices the gleaming lights of something, something he knows the word for, yet can't quite put his finger on it.

 _Village_.

Yes, that's it. It's a village, and there are people in it. People like him. Perhaps, perhaps they can tell him who he is. After a few tries, he manages to use the wind once again, awkwarding floats down to the small village. He drops precariously close to the ground several times when the wind disappears, leaving him breathless with excitement and just the tiniest bit of fear. When the ground is only feet away, he drops suddenly, stumbling into a pile of snow, but he jumps up and spin around, unharmed and exhilarated. He surveys where he's managed to land; a small road filled with people.

He can't wait to talk with them, to learn more, remember more. He waves cheerily at the lady passing by, but she doesn't seem to see him.

He says hello to the next one, but she doesn't notice him either.

The couple sitting by the house doesn't answer.

No one does.

Then a child runs right through him, and he knows, something is _very_ wrong. Everyone passes through him, like he's no one, like he's nothing. They can't see him, or hear him. They can't even touch him. Scared, he looks up at the moon, the only thing he knows in this place, begging for an answer.

_Jack Frost. Your name is Jack Frost._

The words float across his mind once, and then they're gone, and he knows he's alone. Clutching his chest slightly as it tightens in fear and anguish, he walks out of the village, forlorn.

And that is how he lives for the next three hundred years, **alone**.

* * *

 His screams echo across the frozen tundra, demanding answers, demanding comfort, and finding none in the cold and harsh wasteland.

He's so frustrated, so angry, so hurt, though he'll never admit it. Betrayal stings at his insides, sharper than the frost that covers his skin that he stopped feeling long ago, with a deeper bite than the cold wind he can no longer call to his will.

How dare they accuse him, treat him like a traitor. It isn't fair, it isn't right. After all he's done for them, after all the times he believed in them, they still couldn't trust him, they still wouldn't believe in Jack Frost.

**Just like everyone else.**

The pain comes at him again, and he nearly doubles over from the agony. They never had- they never had really-

"They never really believed in you, did they?"

 

_Jack stands in front of them: the Guardians, his grudgingly admitted heros. At the moment, each of them holds a unique look of disdain on their faces, and Jack isn't certain which one looks worse. There's North, with his big arms and long white beard looks the pinnacle of disappointment, not even the checkered sweater detracting from the heavy expression, and Toothiana, barely flitting, even though her iridescent wings still beat incessantly, her feathered feet just inches above the ground. Even Sandy looks unusually somber. Bunnymund is only one wearing a familiar face, unfortunately though, the angry expression isn't comforting when Jack considers the rest the of the skeptical expressions._

_Jack can't imagine what he's done to deserve this ambush. He's never really done anything bad enough to warrant the looks he's getting now. Well, depends on what they might define as bad. Jack ignores the sick feeling in his gut, the ever present fear that's always there. He's ignored it for the past three hundred hundred, he isn't about to let it affect him now, not when he'd got his trickster image to protect. Jacks leans against his staff, pasting on his trademark grin and relaxed air._

" _I must have done something really bad to get the four of you together," Jack says casually. No one laughs, or even cracks a smile. Jack blanches one the inside. This is worse than he thought. Not even Sandy is smiling._

" _Jack," North says gravely, towering over Jack, and it's all he can do not to cower, but he knows he can't do that. Jack Frost doesn't cower; Jack Frost doesn't care. That's the way he must be, that's the way he is._

" _So mate, something you wanna to tell us?" The Kangaroo asks, disdain clear in voice, though it is hard to tell with accent of his._

" _I thought you said this wasn't about Easter," Jack teases, though he feels like doing anything but. "I mean isn't it a little overkill to drag the Tooth Fairy to a grudge match?"_

" _Whatya know about a grudge match?" Bunnymund hisses, and Jack is a little surprised to see true malice in his eyes. Jack knows that Bunnymund doesn't really care for him, but this level of hatred makes Jack nervous in a way that unsettles him. Jack doesn't like the feeling, but he doesn't have time to really to consider the feeling before North speaks._

" _What Bunny wishes to say, is that we received a message," North interjects, his voice still grave. "Is that we've received a message, Jack. From Man in Moon."_

_Jack looks up, startled, before he quickly tries to look as distinctly bored as possible, because he can't let anyone know how long he's waited for something, anything. "A message? What's a message got to do with me. I haven't heard from him since he created me."_

" _Well Jack," the flighty, bird woman says, her bright fathers downcast in worry, "The message, it mentioned you."_

" _Me?" Jack can't help being surprised this time. He doesn't understand how a message could mention him when the Man in the Moon has refused to speak to him in over three hundreds years, no matter how Jack had pleaded and tried._

" _Yes Jack," Toothiana says, "and someone else as well."_

" _So, is there something you wanna tell us Frost?" Bunnymund glares, pressing the question again._

" _Yes, I was planning a huge snowstorm right on Easter just to mess with you," Jack says sarcastically, rolling his eyes, "You caught me. It was going to be '63 all over again." At Bunnymund's glare Jack quickly backtracks, shrugging his shoulders, leaning on his staff. "Jeez Kangaroo, can't you take a joke?"_

" _Why I outta-" The over-large rabbit takes a menacing step forward before North steps in front of Jack, giving Bunnymund a meaningful glance before turning back to Jack._

" _It's not important, what message said, because we have solution to problem!" North smiles brightly. Jack doesn't like the smile on North's face. It seems much too bright, and the uneasy feeling in Jack's stomach tightens, and he clutches his staff tighter, trying not to let the fear claw its way into his expression._

 _But before Jack can get a word in, to ask what exactly is wrong, the room erupts in bright streamers and balloons, and there are dozens of little triangle pointed elves buzzing around him, and Jack's world is suddenly too bright, too loud. Everyone is yelling and congratulating him, even the big Yetis are clapping Jack's shoulders, shoving him this way and that until he's more than dizzy, his head spinning in more ways than he thought possible. He's never had this many people focused on him, and it is difficult to know where he's supposed to look or what's he's supposed to do. Three hundred years of being alone hasn't prepared him for this. Jack is fairly certain he can handle it, until someone says the word, "_ Guardian" _and all of Jack's insides freeze, and he panics, slamming his knobbed staff on the gold and red tiled ground and the party abruptly comes to a crashing halt as people skid across the slick floor, brilliant frost detonating in a flash, sprawling across the marble floor, Jack at the center breathing hard, trying to calm his fluttering heart._

" _Stop," he breathes out harshly, "Enough. Don't understand- don't want-"_

_Sandy looks at Jack with concern, seeing the boy's panic, but it is quickly swept away as Bunnymund, who's slid on the icy floor and slammed into a wall, now comes barreling toward Jack, and Jack only manages to avoid him by calling a gust of wind beneath him, and he jumps above him before skidding away. Bunnymund whirls around, and Jacks thinks a little dazedly that he looks kind of like a bull._

" _You ruddy little thing," Bunnymund snarls, "You were trying to hurt us. Little traitor."_

_Jack shakes his head, trying to find the words to explain that he's sorry, he really didn't mean to hurt anyone, they were just all so loud, and when they said "Guardian" Jack had been frightened. Being a Guardian, protecting children, is a great responsibility, and Jack doesn't want to hurt the children by not being good enough, strong enough._

_That's the last thing he wants._

" _No listen-"_

" _He used his powers on us," Bunnymund ignores. "He attacked us!"_

" _Hey," Jack protests, "I didn't attack you, you just can't surprise someone and expect them not to react badly." Why? Why don't they understand that Jack was just scared, that he didn't understand, that he doesn't want to mess it up, to disappoint them._

" _But Jack," North says excitedly. "Being a guardian, it is exciting, an honor." Both Tooth and Sandy nod ethusicatically._

" _Did you ask me if I wanted this?" Jack snaps, clutching his staff for protection, still trying to work out how to make them understand that he doesn't understand, that he justs wants them to stop and explain what's going on, that once they do that, he'll be fine._

" _But Jack, this is the only way to keep you safe," Toothiana protests._

" _And keep the children safe as well," North adds._

" _Safe, safe from what?" Jack asks, so terribly confused about what is going on. No one is explaining anything to him, and Jack's fear is quickly turning to annoyance and anger. If they would just give him a straight answer, maybe Jack will understand. But Bunnymund no longer looks as if cares if Jack understands or not._

" _He has to go," Bunnymund hisses again, and Jack is stung again by the pure venom and hatred in the Easter Bunny's voice. It doesn't matter how many times Bunnymund makes his disdain for Jack clear, it still hurts every time, no matter how Jack tries to steel himself, to make himself not care, and it's really starting to grate on Jack's nerves._

" _You put me here," Jack says coldly._

" _He doesn't care about children!"_

_The insult doesn't just sting, it feels like hit to the chest. Jack doesn't care? How could that horrible excuse for a rabbit say that he doesn't care about children? All he's done for nearly three hundred years is try to take care of children, to make them happy, so they'll believe in him, so they'll see him, so they'll know that he cares. Jack's tried to do more for children in the past three hundred years than these buffoons combined. They make him so angry. The Guardians, the keepers of children. Yeah, right. Jack sometimes wonders if they've even ever seen a child, played with one. Do they know what it's like to see a child smile, to see them, happy? No, sometimes, in the deep, vicious, part of him, the part that is angry at being left alone for so long, Jack thinks all they care about is being believed in. Jack knows there's more to it than that. There has to be. Now, they want him to join them, for some crazy threat they won't even explain to him, and worse, they're still treating him like an outsider, like he still doesn't belong._

_He hears Toothiana's reprimand to Bunnymund, "Bunny enough," but it doesn't stop the resentment from building in Jack's chest until he he can barely stand it. The fact that the Man in the Moon is somehow supporting this, supporting_ them _makes him even angrier. How dare he, after so long, look at Jack and just decide something, without asking him if he wanted this, if he was ready for this responsibility._

" _After three hundred years," Jack says, pacing back and forth, unable to contain his agitation, "This is his answer? To spend eternity like you guys, cooped up in some hideout thinking of new ways to bribe kids?! No!"_

_By the shocked looks on their faces, Jack knows what he's said hurts them, but Jack can't bring himself to care, not when they don't seem to care at all about what he's feeling._

" _Jack," Toothiana whispers, looking vaguely horrified._

" _That's not for me!"_

 

Jack barely spares a glance at the spirit behind him. His dark robe seems to bleed into the snow, staining white ground in swirls of darkness and sand. Grey hands reach out, gently placing themselves on his blue-covered shoulders, the fingers curling into the fabric.

"They never really believed in you," the dark sprite cooes softly, his voice soothing the frost spirit's pain with the cold, horrible truth.

 

_North puts his big bully arms on either side of Jack and looks him in the eye, whispering firmly to Jack, "You are a guardian Jack, I feel it."_

 

"No," Jack uses his words to guard him against the memory, the one fleeting moment of hope, "That's not what I want." Behind him, unnoticed, a cruel smile twists onto the dark sprite's face.

 

_This time, when Jack slams his staff on the ground, it's bright and flashy, his power making a true show of force as it pushes the Guardians back. The shocked faces of the guardians, and for a moment Jack's selfishly glad that they finally understand, he doesn't want to be pushed around, that he want's to make his own decisions. But when the expressions abruptly shift to ones of pure horror, Jack is even more confused until he turns around and watches as the giant wooden globe is quickly engulfed in black, tar-like sand, and the millions of tiny lights flicker as a delightedly cruel laugh fills the winter palace, echoing around the giant space, making it seem like it's coming from everywhere at once._

" _You're too late," The cruel voice taunts. "I've already taken them all."_

" _No," Toothiana whispers, her voice choking with fear. "Not the teeth."_

_Jack looks at the Tooth Fairy in confusion. What's so special about the teeth? Jack doesn't have time to ask anything because he is suddenly surrounded by several large Yeti, and Jack is uncomfortably reminded of all the times the giant furry monsters had thrown him out on his ass, just for trying to get a peek of North's operation, see what all the big deal was._

" _You can't upset the balance like this Pitch," North calls out. "The children need those memories!"_

" _Oh, it's not just the children's teeth," The voice hisses with pleasure, "But your's as well. All those memories, all that power; it's all_ **mine** _." Jack feels a shiver run down his back and he spins, only to see a small line of sand retracting itself back into the whole of sand. That is strange, but Jack is more confused about the teeth. What does memories have to do with teeth? Jack knows that Toothiana's little fairies collect children's teeth, but Jack's never really asked why. It's been hard to ask when the little fairies did nothing but ignore him when he had tried to speak to him so many years ago._

_Now, looking at the other guardians, Jack realizes they're important, not just to Tooth, or the other Guardians, but to the children. The children's memories, Toothiana has them. The voice had said something else to, that he had the Guardians' teeth too. Did that mean that he has Jack's too? Did Jack have a life before this, people he'd loved, people he'd cared for? Has Toothiana had them all that time? Can it really be all that simple?_

 

**If I find my memories then I'll know who I am,**

**And I won't be** alone **.**

 

The golden tube appears suddenly from Pitch's robe and into his long hands, the grey fingers cradling it gently in his palms. It looks so innocent, with the flat jade top, and small, intricate drawing of a face, _his_ face with flush skin and muddy brown hair. That face, it looks so similar, and yet, so different from the face he's known for the past three hundred years.

Jack looks up uncertainly at him, who has a gentle expression on his lips.

"Do you want them Jack?"

 

" _What are you?" Jack calls out before he can stop himself, and he watches and the sand suddenly forms into the form of a giant, intimidating shadow of a man. The Yeti's grumble disgruntledly, but don't try to stop him._

" _Fear and Darkness," Though the words are spoken to all, Jack feels like there's suddenly something next to him, the same voice echoing the words into his ear, and Jack shudders at the closeness, the intimacy. No one comes this close to him._

" _Like the boogeyman?" Jack asks again, and hates the way his voice cracks at the end. The presence behind him laughs softly and Jack swears he can feel hands on his shoulder. North suddenly looks at him then, and for a moment Jack thinks that the burly man can see whatever is behind him, but then North shakes his head._

" _Don't speak to him Jack," North warns. "You're only giving him more power." He turns back to the shadowy figure. "Why are you doing this?"_

_The dark figure laughs again, and it echoes all around the globe._

" _Maybe I want what you have," The figure hisses._

" _Rack off you bloody show pony!" Bunnymund hisses._

 _The figure laughs again. "Rabbit, you're time is done. Maybe I'll have you stuffed. Soon all you have will be_ mine _."_

" _ **They deserve what's coming for them, after everything they've done to you.**_ " _the voice whispers behind him, and then it's suddenly, it's gone, and the sand disappears, and the globe glows once more. The guardians are already in motion, grabbing tools and weapons, while Jack is still caught between the Yetis. As they pass by him, North gives him a pat on shoulder._

" _We'll be back soon, and talk more," North promises before he takes two swords handed to him by a Yeti and leaves the room. They all had left, except for Bunnymund, who is standing in front of Jack. Before he can stop him, Bunnymund suddenly rams Jack into the wall behind him, and Jack feels an unexpected burst of pain across his thin shoulder blades._

" _I know what you are. I see ya here again," he hisses, shoving Jack hard against the all, "I'll kill ya, ya little traitor."_

_Jack stays on the floor, the staff forgotten at his side. He doesn't realize he's shaking until he curls in on himself, trying to hold back a sob._

_Jack doesn't understand, and no will tell him anything._

* * *

  _When Jack is finally able to calm himself down, he grabs his staff and runs to the nearest window, jumping as far as he can and letting the window carry him as far from the wretched palace as the winds would carry him. He ends up back in the same town he left, wandering aimlessly. Obviously this thing with the Guardians is going to be a problem, and Jack doesn't doubt that Bunnymund wouldn't try to make good on his threat. He should just go somewhere really cold wait until this whole thing blows over. Maybe he'll be able to show his face in fifty years, when Bunny's finally calmed down._

_Jack doesn't really want to leave, especially seeing all the snow on the ground, knowing that the children will be out tomorrow, playing, having snowball fights, enjoying their last snowy weekend before spring truly starts to set in._

But it's not like they would see me anyways _, Jack reminds himself somberly, kicking some snow out of his path as the thought sinks in._ I should just leave now.

_Decision made, Jacks up at the dark blue sky, readying himself to call the winds, when a voice behind him stops him cold._

" _Frost." The voice is smooth and dark, the same voice he heard just a few hours earlier. Jack can't help the small jump of surprise, and cautiously looks up the side of building to the roof. Above him stands a man, dressed in a black robe that seems to bleed from the shadows around him. He looks exactly the same as the imposing figure before, and Jack has no doubt that this is the spirit who had attacked the guardians._

The one who has my teeth, _Jack suddenly realizes. A crazy thought comes to him then, a product of years of planning the adventures that had earned him the trickster image he was famous for. Maybe, he can get his teeth from this man without the guardians knowing. Jack knows he has to be careful though. This spirit is obviously dangerous, and Jack still doesn't understand what's going on. Better do try this quickly, so that if it doesn't, he still has enough time to fly as far away as the winds will let him go._

" _Quite a show you put on," Jack says, trying to look casual._

_The figure above him smirks, and then seems to bleed into the shadows above. For a moment Jack loses sight of him, and then does actually jump when the dark spirit suddenly appears from the shadows in front of him. "I'm glad you enjoyed it, Frost. But here I thought you'd be all chummy with your new friends."_

" _They didn't invite me," Jack admits unwillingly. His casual look doesn't seem to be fooling anyone, and Jack is about to get straight to the point when a swirl of black sand suddenly surrounds them both. For the briefest moment, Jack is terrified that he made a really bad choice, and that Bunnymund's not going to be able to make good on that threat after all. But then the sand warps, and Jack is mesmerized as dozens of black horses circle around him, watching him silently with burning golden eyes. Jack reaches out to touch the nearest stallion, and is surprised that the sand holds it's form; it's the same as Sandy's golden sand._

" _You stole some of Sandy's sand?" Jack says, astonished, and a grin lights up his face. "Oh man Sandy is going to kill you." the spirit laughs, and though the sound is slightly unsettling to Jack's ears, Jack likes that he made the dark spirit laugh._

" _If he can catch them, he can have them back," the spirit promises darkly. The black sand horses leans into the Jack's hand them, nuzzling his pale fingers, and Jack starts to pet the horse, and it makes a sound that sounds very much like a whinny._

" _I never did catch your name," Jack says after a moment, figuring that while he was here, he might as well learn_ something _about exactly is going on._

" _Pitch, Pitch Black," The spirit introduces himself after a moment, still watching Jack as he pets the closest horse._

_Jack lets out a little snort. "A little on the nose, don't you think, boogeyman?" He can't help teasing the dangerous spirit, because he feels quite comfortable here, despite all the apparent danger._

" _You're one to talk Frost." Jack can't really argue against that, so he lets it go and keeps petting the horse. As he watches the other horses move around them, Jack thinks that it might be kind of cool to ride one of these horses, see how fast they really go. As if it can hear his musings, the horse moves to side then, looking expectantly back at Jack. He glances at Pitch, not wanting to actually piss off this dark spirit. Pitch however, simply inclines his head, the dark golden eyes glowing brightly in the night._

_Jack considers his options for a moment. He really should just ask about his teeth and leave. He shouldn't be anywhere near the guardians might be. But he really is itching for some fun, and the idea of riding this thing has too much promise to pass up._

" _Okay," Jack says, swinging himself up onto the sand horse, "One ride, but that's it."_

* * *

  _Jack laughs as the horse races through the air, galloping through horde after horde of the black horses, jumping off the building roofs and soaring high into the clouds. Oh the rush is incredible. It's so different from riding the winds, and far more fun than doing it alone. The horse seems to know when to push faster and higher, making Jack's breath catch as the adrenaline rushes through him. Jack's not sure when Pitch got beside him, riding and equally fast horse, but he seems to be enjoying the ride almost as much as Jack is, and Jack quickly becomes used to his unsettling laugh, even resorting to doing insane tricks on the horse to hear it again. Jack hasn't felt the this free in decades, and for a moment, he forgets the dismal state of things and lets himself have some glorious fun._

_Jack jumps off the horse then, letting the wind catch him and vault him over Pitch, who stares at him in wonder before the horse lands beneath him, catching Jack and racing off again. When Jack finally lands on the dark and barren street, he feels lighter than he has in the longest time. The dark horse knickers and shoves against him lightly as Pitch lands next to him, another unsettling grin lighting his face as slides off his mount._

" _Well Frost, I am impressed," The dark spirits admits, "There's not many that can handle a nightmare like you can."_

_Jack grins, not bothering to hide how pleased he is at the compliment. He opens his mouth to thank the dark spirit for a fantastic time when a flash of red catches his eye, and a sharp burst of pain in his stomach is his only warning as something wraps around his waist and yanks him away from Pitch. Jack is thrown onto something hard and wooden, and it takes a painful moment for him to realize he's on a giant sleigh. A large bump sends Jack's head snapping painfully against the wooden side, and he's suddenly very dizzy._

_Tooth appears in his hazy vision then, moving back and forth too fast to be helpful. "Hang on Jack, we're here to help." She flits away then, and Jack just barely has enough sense to stumble to the edge of the sleigh. Hundreds of nightmare horses fly around the sleigh, trying to break through the the Guardians who are keeping them at bay. Jack watches in horror as North slices at the beautiful creatures, Sandy whips his golden sand around the stallions' necks, and Bunnymund's boomerang cuts through stomach of a horse._

" _No," Jack whispers dazedly, as he watches the guardians cut down the beautiful black horses. Suddenly, the nightmare he'd ridden earlier is next him, trying to push off the sleigh and away from the battle. Jack manages to get to the edge, and he turns around to thank the creature only to watch as a boomerang cuts through the stallion and it falls apart, nothing more than black sand._

" _Stop it, stop it!" Jack screams then, and panic seizes him. Time stands still as the air suddenly freezes around him, and the very air is still as the guardians slowly begin to turn their heads. Then his hands connect with his staff and everything around him explodes. Icy lightning rips the sleigh to shreds, and power flares around him, raw, cold, and visceral. Jack has no control, he can do nothing but scream as pulsing energy seems to be ripped from his very core._

_When the storm around him finally ends, Jack has no energy left to protect himself and he falls through the air, the staff slipping from his hands. He lands hard on the pavement, moaning in pain, barely able to move. Everything hurts, so much. He doesn't notice anyone come near, he's too exhausted, at least not until a new pain blooms in his stomach when someone kicks at his side The force of the blow throws Jack onto his back. Giant, furry paws reach down and haul him up, throwing him against a pole. Then a punch comes out of nowhere, and a furry fist slams into his jaw. The fist sends him flying back onto the street, whimpering in pain as he tries to right himself and his spinning head. He sits up gingerly, clutching his stomach._

_He looks up to see Bunnymund standing above him, and Jack realizes vaguely that he was wrong, Bunny could look much, much angrier. "You rotten little traitor!" He yells, and Jack can just barely scramble back to avoid another kick to his aching ribs. Jack tries to speak, but, the words won't come. He's too exhausted, too tired to speak, and with every breath there is pain. Behind Bunnymund, the other stand silently, offering no help to the injured Jack or to the furious Bunnymund._

" _Ya don't deserve the second chance he gave you," Bunnymund hisses viciously. "Ya deserve to be invisible."_

" _No," Jack whimpers, scooting farther away from Bunnymund. The large rabbit takes another menacing step closer, and his big padded footsteps on Jack's staff with a sickening crack. Jack can only watch helplessly as Bunnymund picks up the staff and snaps it. The aches in his body are nothing compared to the resounding crack of the staff and instant bolt of pain that goes straight through him as Bunnymund tosses the useless halves at his feet._

" _Now you won't cause any more trouble, you tossing traitor," Bunnymund says with finality as Jack scrambles and grabs the now useless piece of wood. As Bunnymund pads away, Jack holds the useless pieces of wood against his chest. It was all he had had left, the staff was the only power he's had. Tears well his eyes, tracking down his face before freezing against his cheek as he desperately tries stop the shuddering sobs coming from aching chest._

_The Guardians, they were gone. They hadn't even give him a chance to say anything, to beg for forgiveness. He hadn't meant to hurt them, he didn't even know how he'd done it. Though his physical wounds slowly healed themselves, the aching pain in his chest won't go away, and Jack doesn't know how to stop the pain._

_Suddenly something muzzles gently against Jack's ear, and he looks up in surprise to see the nightmare stallion looking down at him, his hooves, pawing impatiently at the frozen pavement. Jack leaps up and hugs the sand creature. "I thought you were gone," He whispers thickly into the sandy mane. The horse snickers impatiently, gently forcing Jack to let go of Jack's tight grip, making a skyward motion before starting to gallop up into the air. Jack moves to follow, but then the sudden realization comes to him, and Jack curls around the staff. That staff was the only connection to the winds Jack had had. Without it, he is powerless._

" _I can't fly," he says helplessly to the stallion. The nightmare knickers again, and this time it helps him up onto his back with an encouraging whinny. Once it is sure Jack is settle, the nightmare takes off then, and Jack closes his eyes, still clutching the broken pieces of his staff to his chest, holding on tightly to the nightmare's mane._

 

Jack stands, the now broken pieces of his staff cast aside as he holds the golden box in his hands, Pitch in front of him, the nightmare stallion nickered softly at his side.

"Why are you doing this?" Jack asks, even though he knows how powerless he is. If Pitch decides to hurt him, or even just to leave, Jack has no power to stop him.

"You deserve the truth, what the Man in the Moon refused to tell you." When Jack still doesn't move, Pitch gently closes Jack's hands around the golden box. "Go on Jack."

Jack takes a shaky breath and presses the jewel at the center of the small golden doors, and then a brilliant, golden light consumes him. Jack watches as memories flood by him at dizzying speeds, and he sees himself, with brown hair and brown eyes, a human child playing with a girl who looks just like him.

 _A sister,_ Jack realizes heartbrokenly, _I had a sister._

More memories fly past him. Himself, hanging in the tree, knowing he's doing that just to see the look of worry on his sister's face, to know her focus is on him, and that the other children are laughing. He want's her to laugh too, because that's his whole world sometimes, seeing her smile, seeing her laugh. Another memory passes then, and Jack is looking back at a woman's soft and worried smile, her brow creasing with concern, so much like his sister's worry. But Jack knows he'll be perfectly safe, because nothing bad ever happens, not when he's taking care of his sister.

But somehow, he ends up on a pond, the same one from the first memory he ever had over three hundreds years ago, on the thin ice, trying desperately to keep his beloved sister calm while he tries to figure a way out of this. Jack can feel the fear like sandpaper in his mouth, the bone deep cold of the ice on his bare feet, a feeling he had forgotten for so long. When Jack moves to save her, he feels relief when she slides to safety away from the dangerously thin ice. But he is only able to enjoy it for the briefest moment before he feels the ice crack beneath and the chilly grey water swallow him whole, and as the cold water slowly drags him deeper and deeper into the darkness, the last thing he sees is the moon shining brightly overhead, as his sister screams his name.

Jack wrenches himself from the memories and throws the box off the edge of the cliff, rage utterly unchecked in his heart.

The Man in the Moon had watched him die, and had done **nothing**.

"The Guardians, they never cared about you," Pitch says gently, "and the Man in the Moon only wanted you for your power."

"And what do you want from me Pitch?" Jack asks more harshly than he means to.

"Do you think you're the only one who knows what it feels like," PItch says gently, "To be invisible and cast out? To long for a home and a family?"

"Why would you want me?" Jack asks desperately. "I'm nothing, I'm useless, and my power is gone!"

"The staff," Pitch scoffs at the pieces of wood. "That is simply a crutch, given to you by the Man in the Moon to _control_ you. I can help you, Jack, I want to help you."

"But why?!" Jack shouts.

Pitch's grin widens then. "What goes together better than cold and dark?! We belong together Jack, you and I. They fear us, the Guardians, because they are afraid that they're wrong, that you and I deserve to be believed in." Pitch's voice softened then. "They can't protect the children anymore, but we can."

"We, we can?" Jacks repeats gently, still unsure.

"Yes," Pitch says brightly, taking Jack's hands in his own. "It's their turn to not be believed in, to know what it feels like to be alone."

"People will, believe in me, they will see me?"

"Yes, Jack," Pitch promises, "They'll believe in both of us, but first, we have to stop the Guardians. You and I, we can do it together."

Jack nods slowly, clutching at Pitch's hands. Jack understands, Pitch wants to tell him the truth, and Jack wants all of what Pitch is promising. "Okay," Jack agrees, and is too relieved to be truly terrified of Pitch's smile as Pitch wraps his arm around Jack's shoulder, the nightmare horse next to him, and for the first, he truly feels like he **belongs**.

* * *

 Pitch surveys the aftermath of the battle with vicious glee. Oh how easy it had been, once Jack's staff had been properly fixed to take the fading Guardians down. They'd been trying to help the Easter Bunny, but it had all been for nothing when the Frost spirits raw power had raced through the tunnels, freezing and shattering every little egg in sight. Jack had taken particular pleasure in watching the powerful Easter Bunny be reduced to nothing more than a tiny shriveling creature. Perhaps if Bunnymund hadn't been so cruel to Jack, but then Bunnymund couldn't be completely responsible for his actions, not when Pitch had made sure to give him an extra touch of fear, knowing exactly how much that would channel into his rage.

As if that had been his most masterful move.

Pitch Black had know for quite some time that Jack Frost was a special spirit, that the Man in the Moon had saved him from that watery grave for a reason. It hadn't been until Jack had unleashed his power on the unsuspecting Guardians that Pitch did realize just how special he was. If he had sided with the Guardians, Pitch probably would have lost his gambit for power. But the Man in the Moon had put too much faith that the Guardians would understand the message he'd attempted to send them. One could have said it was a stroke of luck the that the Guardians had misunderstood Manny's message, but Pitch had to admit to tweaking the message as well, just to make sure that when the time came, Jack Frost would come to him.

And come he had. The spirit is truly incredible, a force beyond imagining, and now, Jack Frost is all his. After so long, Pitch finally has a companion worthy to stand beside him. It will take time for Jack to be what Pitch truly wants, what he truly **deserves**. After all, the poor child is quite damaged, after being left alone and unwanted for so long. Pitch will have to be patient, kind, and use the boy's fear to make sure he will **always** stay by Pitch's side.

But as he pulls the small, white haired boy close, turning him away from the fading guardians, Pitch knows it will be worth the wait.

After all, it takes effort to make a trophy truly shine, and Jack is going to be the perfect trophy, the perfect prize.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello!  
> If you like this work, please check out the YouTube video, All or Nothing (Pitch Black x Jack Frost) by Bellachii. This work is inspired by that video. She's also made some fantastic videos for one of my favorite pairings and I highly recommend her channel. Here is her profile https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnrj9xFlWkBYjbpw8DSYD4Q.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


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